NEW DELHI: In a major recast of the wholesale and factory gate inflation framework, the government on Monday unveiled a revised series of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with 2022-23 as the base year and simultaneously introduced new Producer Price Indices (PPIs).
The new WPI series, released by the Office of the Economic Adviser under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, replaces the 2011-12 base year series.
The government has also launched the Output PPI, a trial Input PPI for manufacturing, and Service PPIs covering seven sectors including banking, insurance, railways, telecom and air passenger services.
The commerce ministry said WPI and PPI will be published in parallel for five years to allow users, particularly those relying on WPI-linked contracts and escalation clauses, to transition to the producer price framework. After this, WPI will be discontinued.
As per the new data, WPI inflation surged to 9.7% year-on-year in May 2026 against 8.3% in April, led by a jump in energy prices. Combining the new base and old base WPI, the May print is the highest in 44 months.
Fuel inflation rose to 30.3% in May from 24.9% in April, driven by crude oil, natural gas, and mineral fuels (ATF, naphtha, petrol, diesel, etc). The Output PPI (goods) saw a rise similar to that of WPI, at 9.4% in May against 8.1% in April, led by fuel inflation.
Under the revised WPI basket, the number of tracked items has increased from 697 to 957. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, along with nuclear electricity, have been included in the basket for the first time.
PRODUCER PRICE INDEX
Govt introduces PPI data for both goods and services for the first time to better reflect price movement
Govt’s move in line with practices adopted by advanced economies and IMF recommendations
Base year for both WPI and PPI to be 2022-23, replacing 2011-12 series
PPI to phase out WPI in five years
PPI comprises Output, Input, and Service indices comprising 7 sectors
Service PPI to cover banking, securities transaction, insurance, management of pension funds, railways, air (passenger) & telecom; remaining sectors in next phase